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Back in the summer of 2016, I made a huge decision. Well, my whole family made a huge decision. We decided to move country.
I was blogging and writing for clients at the time, just like I am now. Somehow I had to be able to blog and move country at the same time.
It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible either. We also gave ourselves three months, which was even crazier!
But we did it, my blog grew during and after that time, and I’m still blogging and running a writing business. I did it all with two kids, and one of those just six months old at the time.
How did I do it? These are the tips I learned to blog and move country at the same time.
Schedule your time
I can’t stress this enough. Scheduling your time is the most important thing that you can do. I say to do it as a business owner anyway, but when moving it’s even more important.
There’s packing, kids, work, DIY, and so much more that needs to be done. When moving country, you’ll have friends and family members who want to see you before you leave. After four years of saying “we’ll need to do a play date,” you realize that you’ve not done one and this is your only chance.
So, schedule your time. Make time for writing/blogging, and packing, and play dates, and everything else going on with the move.
I’m thankful for the military experience to get timings scheduled. That really helped me.
You’ll need to do this on the other side, too. Schedule time to unpack, to explore the new area, and even in case of delays or changes of plan. Don’t assume everything will run smoothly because it rarely does.
Plan in advance
Try to do as much in advance as possible.
I made the mistake. I left so much work to the end that I rushed it. You know what? The quality suffered.
Luckily, a friend was editing the pieces and knew what my writing was really like. She just put my work on hold and told me to look over pieces again once I was back to it.
It could have been so much worse!
We also rushed the painting and lost out on almost £200 (about $266) of our deposit. To be honest, it was less than we expected to lose out on but still a kick in the teeth.
With a good plan, you’ll be able to get a couple of evergreen blog posts published. You can also look at seasonal content that will need to go live during the move. Have content scheduled that will help increase your revenue on your own blogs. You want stuff that you can set and temporarily forget.
Plan, plan, plan everything. And stick to that plan!
MORE: Should you test your writing niche with free blogs?
Let clients know
Don’t spring this move on your clients at the last minute. Let them know you’re moving and give them an idea of the time that you’ll be away for.
I only took two weeks off to give us time to pack up in the UK and set up in Canada. It was like being on a holiday really, and clients are used to writers taking a week or two off.
They just need to know in advance. You owe them that. It gives them the chance to get work planned out with other writers or find someone temporary. If you’re a good writer, they’re not just going to drop you.
If you don’t respect them enough to give them warning then they will drop you. Why should they respect you?
Have a notebook to blog and move country
I can’t tell you how much a notebook helped me with the move. I could make notes of blog post ideas and even jot out a few lines for novels. I was able to scribble down addresses and phone numbers and make sure I had notes for any email addresses and website URLs that I’d need on the other side of the journey.
As a writer, your notebook is your best friend. Make sure you use it to your advantage.
Trying to blog and move country definitely isn’t easy. There’s so much you’ll need to do on the other side, even if you don’t have kids. Being organized and having everything scheduled will really help.